Plate 069 · branch with flowers and fruit IdentificationFive marks on the plate
- 1Simple glossy leaf, elliptic and pointed.
- 2Pale underside with reddish veins.
- 3Alternate leaves on reddish stalks.
- 4Panicles of flowers tiny and yellowish-white.
- 5Egg-shaped fruit seated in a green cup.
Easily confused with Horco molleBlepharocalyx salicifoliusOpposite, much narrower and smaller leaves. 069 / 100 · PLANTS · LAURACEAENOT EVALUATED Mountain Laurel
Ocotea porphyria
Laurel del cerro · Tucumán laurel
It is one of the typical trees of the montane forest, evergreen and broad-crowned. Its leaves are pale underneath with reddish veins. Its egg-shaped fruits, each seated in a small cup, feed birds that spread the seed.
- Tree height
- up to c. 25 m
- Altitude
- c. 800 – 2,500 m
- Leaves
- 7 – 18 cm, evergreen
- Fruit
- c. 13 – 18 mm, in a cup
- Evergreen
- Montane forest
- Bird-dispersed
- Hardwood
Altitude rangeHeart of the montane forest
Known rangeWhere it is most important It is found between c. 800 and 2,500 m, but plays its biggest role in the forest between 1,300 and 1,500 m.
EcologyFruit for birds
- Fruit-eating birdseat the fruit and spread the seed
- Small insectsvisit the tiny flowers
- Shade-tolerantseedlings grow under the canopy
- Mistmoist, cloudy slopes
Like other laurels, its fruit holds a single large seed. Medium to large birds swallow it whole.
Life cycleEvergreen, slow-growing
- Evergreen leaves. It keeps a green crown all year, unlike walnut or cedar.
- Tiny flowers. Panicles of yellowish-white flowers 3 – 4 mm across.
- Fruit in a cup. Each fruit sits on a cup-shaped receptacle.
Where to look in Tucumán- Sierra de San Javier
- Parque Provincial La Florida
- Reserva Experimental Horco Molle
- El Siambón
- Raco